Introduction: Seasons and Winds. 29 



Sooloo Archipelago and Celebes Sea. — According to the Sailing Directory, 

 easterly winds are experienced here from October till May; from May onwards 

 westerly winds accompanied by "rains, squalls and tempests", especially in July 

 and August (p. 22). From van der Stok's charts the direction of the more 

 prevalent winds is seen to be southerly from June till October, and northerly 

 or north-easterly from November till April. 



PhiUpinne Islands. — The windward shores of the islands are in general 

 the wet ones; thus, on the north and east coasts the most abundant rainfall 

 takes place in the half-year from October till March when the N. E. Trade- 

 wind is in force, while the territories to the South and West, which lie exposed 

 to the S. W. Monsoon, have their rainy season during the other half-year. At 

 Manila the winds vary much in the course of each day, owing to land- and 

 sea-breezes. In July, August and September S. W. winds prevail, in November 

 and December N. E. winds, becoming more S. E. in March and April. The town, 

 being on the west coast, has its rainy season during the summer months of the 

 northern hemisphere (cf. Obs. meteor, de Manila de la Comp. de Jesus, 1870 — 73, 

 lS7ti). The following observations were obtained by Meyer from Iloilo on the 

 Island of Panay. The S. W. Monsoon commences in June, exceptionally in May, 

 but it does not then blow uninterruptedly. The rain falls in varying quantities, 

 being sometimes heavy, at other times not so; and it may last — though this 

 is the exception — for a month continuously; fourteen days in succession may 

 be taken as the rule, judging from four or five occasions when this was ex- 

 perienced. June — September generally afford disturbed weather; most of August 

 fine. The N. E. Monsoon commences about the middle of October, and there 

 is occasional rain from October to December, in January only very little; from 

 the end of January till March it is dry. In April and May, when the Mon- 

 soons are changing, there are occasional thunderstorms. 



In Palawan the Monsoons are liable to much interruption, and there appears 

 to be no rainy season in jjarticular (Sail. Direct. 1870 p. 23). 



Borneo. — "Owing to the great extent of alluvial ground with which Borneo 

 is nearly everywhere surrounded, to the numerous water-courses irrigating the 

 land in every direction, and to the vapours arising from the dense forest with 

 which most parts of the island are covered the atmosphere is always damp." 

 Land- and sea-breezes are felt far inland. The temperature is more moderate 

 than might be expected ; at Pontianak in the west almost on the equator, at 

 sunrise 24-5" C. (19-5" R., 76" F.), at midday not more than 33-3" C. (26-7'' R., 

 92" F.), mean 27-8" C. (22-2" R., 82" F,). As the island is divided by the 

 equator, the northern and southern halves are subjected to the influence of 

 different monsoons. 



South of the equator the character of the season is well determined by the 

 particular monsoon in force. The S. E. Monsoon prevails, roughly speaking, in 

 the time of our summer, and the finest months of the year, as is shown by the 

 reports sent in to Dr. van der Stok from si.x stations in Central and S. E. Borneo, 



